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Injured Liverpool midfielder could make return v Stoke

Jurgen Klopp’s hands are largely tied when it comes to his potential selections this evening for the first leg of the League Cup semi-final against Stoke, but he may be able to call upon his vice-captain again, Paul Joyce in the Express claims.

James Milner, who turned 30 yesterday, has been struggling with a calf injury and hasn’t played since December 13th when we drew at home to West Brom – meaning he’s missed our past four games.

But Joyce reckons Milner is ready to return and could play a part at the Britannia this evening.

In Milner’s absence we battled to victories over Leicester and Sunderland but lost miserably to Watford and West Ham – perhaps showing that the former Manchester City utility man has a bigger influence for us than we’ve given him credit for.

Milner works incredibly hard but has been criticised for a lack of creative input from the central midfield position he’s been predominantly used in. Interestingly though, he’s averaged 2.3 key passes per game (via WhoScored), which is more than any other Liverpool player so far this season.